Gummi is an album filled with well-produced pop-oriented (Icelandic) music and very much a Resonant affair. It is all about ultra clean production where every sonic element seem to be in exactly the right place, including vocals oozing of disappear. Stafrænn Häkon’s full-length album Gummi is more than competent pop-music. The album is out now… Continue reading Stafrænn Häkon, Gummi [Resonant – RESCD023, 2007]
Category: Texts about music
Port-Royal, Afraid to Dance [Resonant – RESCD024, 2007]
The long-awaited follow-up to their 2005 Flares album does not disappoint. Port-royal’s dramatic guitar-filled music is executed to perfection throughout the 10 tracks on the CD. In comparison with their previous album the dramatic effects are not as big and the focus or interest in beats is noticeably stronger in Afraid to Dance. However, they’re… Continue reading Port-Royal, Afraid to Dance [Resonant – RESCD024, 2007]
Electricwest, Drawing Plans for Delicate Evasion [Boltfish Recordings – BOLT038, 2007]
A brilliant debut album by an artist called Electricwest (the parents most likely would be calling Pat Benolkin for dinner) released by Boltfish Recordings. The mood is set straight away in the opening track The Nightshift with slow but reliable hip hop beats laying the foundation pared with atmosphere setting synthetic sounds and warm subbass… Continue reading Electricwest, Drawing Plans for Delicate Evasion [Boltfish Recordings – BOLT038, 2007]
Yellow6, Painted Sky [Resonant – RESCD022, 2007]
Being the minimal excursion in guitar-based music that Yellow6’s full-length album Painted Sky Is. It fits the Resonant label perfectly and it is not hard to understand how this album ended up being an actual release. The mix of treated / untreated guitars either with beats or without are all expertly put together forming an… Continue reading Yellow6, Painted Sky [Resonant – RESCD022, 2007]
Various Artists, A Small Frame of Reference [October Man Recordings – OCTOBER MAN 15, 2006]
A compilation on October Man Recordings that contains 14 tracks by 13 artists as is usually the case there are some well-known contributors to OMR and some who make their first contribution. The electronic music elder Cheju opens A Small Frame of Reference with the trademarked sounding and beautiful Bracken. The one thing out of… Continue reading Various Artists, A Small Frame of Reference [October Man Recordings – OCTOBER MAN 15, 2006]
Convurazio, Behind the Console… Mama Mia Chef! [October Man Recordings – OCTOBER MAN 19, 2007]
The debut release of Convurazio on October Man Recordings offers music set in lo-fi with well-known and cherished beats, and when paired with nursery rhyme like melodies like in the opening track Tricky it is a treat. In the second track Skate the setting in the same: lo-fi, but the beats are light and treading… Continue reading Convurazio, Behind the Console… Mama Mia Chef! [October Man Recordings – OCTOBER MAN 19, 2007]
Lilienweiss, Silent Night [October Man Recordings – OCTOBER MAN 18, 2007]
The one-man industry that is October Man Recordings continues to release ultra limited records with no sign of stopping. Silent Night is an EP released on the increasingly popular 3-inch CDR format. The OMR releases come individually numbered and with a hand-cut piece of actual(!) photographic paper for cover art. Lilienweiss are Thorsten Scheerer and… Continue reading Lilienweiss, Silent Night [October Man Recordings – OCTOBER MAN 18, 2007]
Btb, Who Wants to be Healthy in This Sick World? [Boltfish Recordings – BOLT042, 2007]
BTB second full-length album entitled Who Wants to be Healthy in this Sick World? following his debut Sysex EP from late 2005. BTB continues to make lovely sounding electronic music with excellent beats and melodies to accompany them. However as the title may suggest his music is set in a more sinister landscape (could it… Continue reading Btb, Who Wants to be Healthy in This Sick World? [Boltfish Recordings – BOLT042, 2007]
Mise en Scene, neo~ylo [Boltfish Recordings – BOLT040, 2007]
The latest appearance (and debut if I’m not grossly mistaken) by Mise en Scene was on the Tandem Series number 4. Neo~ylo is broken and quite mechanical sounding as in D:great or the title track Neo~ylo. Overall there’s a great selection of more or less nervous and disjointed sounds on this five track EP. It’s… Continue reading Mise en Scene, neo~ylo [Boltfish Recordings – BOLT040, 2007]
Oblong, Indicator [Expanding Records – ECD26:06, 2006]
The change of direction has already been revealed and verified, for an ultra-consistent label like Expanding anything else would have been impossibility. Oblong’s full-length shares more than one thing in common with the last three releases on Expanding and fit precisely into their overall musical scheme. As is the always the case on Expanding (with… Continue reading Oblong, Indicator [Expanding Records – ECD26:06, 2006]